5 Rules for Cruising with Kids

[kwagmyre]

... and yes, this was partially inspired by "angandboys" recent thread about her kids recent spot of trouble on the Magic, but a scan of my posts will show that I have been considering this topic recently regardless.

 

Having only one (adult) cruise under my belt, and that having only been a honeymoon with my lovely wife, we are considering for our second cruise taking my 3 kids on most likely a 7-day eastern or western caribbeean cruise.

 

Partially from my own experience, and also largely from my reading on CruiseCritic, I want to create a short, but pertinent list of rules for them to follow while on-board. I think I've got it narrowed down to 5:

 

1. Always be with another member of our party, unless you are at a ship-sponsored event such as the kids camps. No roaming alone.

 

2. Do not let anyone else into your cabin, and do not go into anyone else's cabin, ever. Even with the door open does not count.

 

3. No roughhousing or horseplay.

No climbing on anything, ever.

It's a small ship in a big ocean and a long way to the nearest hospital.

 

4. Maintain situational awareness, use common sense and common courtesy. Hold doors open for people behind you. Allow elevators to empty before getting on them. Sanitize hands before eating.

 

5. In the unlikely event of a shipwide emergency,

proceed immediately to your assigned lifeboat. Do not return to your cabin for a lifejacket, there are plenty on the boats. Do not look for us; we will find you.

 

That last rule is based largely on recent shipwide events in the news, especially accounts from Concordia.

 

I realize there can be no "one size fits all" list for cruising with kids - some will think this is too restrictive, others not enough. I am more so just looking to see if I am missing anything obvious here.

 

A few notes:

 

- I do not plan on having them have "charging priveleges" on their S&S cards. The arcade uses coins, and if they want anything else, we will be more than happy to buy it for them. They normally don't drink soft drinks at home, so soda cards are not a consideration.

 

- These are mostly for on the ship. We will always be together in the ports, so the only real rule there will be "stay close and do what we tell you" lol.

 

- I am willing to be a little flexible with meals, but we will see how that goes. It would be my preference for us to eat most meals together, but they are kids and I want to be realistic.

 

- We will probably have a curfew, but I anticipate fewer problems with this than most. My kids are pretty useless after about 9:30, and they are basket-cases the next day if they go to bed much later than that (even though they will be 11,12, and 14 when/if we sail). It's not intentional, it's just the way they are built. Even when on vacations and camping and stuff when they are allowed to stay up later, they usually don't. Either way, common sense will be used here. Obviously they won't be up til 1 a.m. if we have an early excursion the next day. Then again, neither will I!

 

Once I have finalized my rules, I am seriously considering having them laminated onto credit-card sized cards, and placing them on lanyards next to their S&S cards. A little overkill and possibly embarrasing? Yep, you bet. But these are my kids, and, while they don't technically misbehave so much, they are always looking for loopholes and exceptions. I think their favorite phrase is "But what if..." followed by some remote, but possible scenario. It's like living with three little lawyers... it's exhausting.

 

Anyway, like I said, just looking to see if I am missing anything obvious here.

[pe4all]

Trust and responsibility is is a two way street - our kids ALWAYS knew where we would be at all times, so they could find us if necessary. (as easy as using a post-it note on our cabin door if anyone changed locales.) Also - use common sense. If someone you are with is doing something you think is wrong, it probably is. Remove yourself from the situation, and/or report it to an adult/crew member.

[sparks1093]

First I would modify #5 to go to your muster station, that's where the crew will be looking for everyone and where life boat assignments will be modified.

 

Second, I would remind them that all public areas of the ship are under video surviellance and to keep that in mind.

 

That's all I can think of at the moment but I'm sure there are other things.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

How old are your kids? These rules fit pretty good for kids who can be on their own without an adult (I assume your kids are a bit older.) My kids were 5 and 6 on their first cruise, and we pretty much followed these rules, except they were always with an adult. Didn't have any problems with Camp Carnival...the kids loved it. We really wanted the kids to eat dinner with us, but by about the 3rd night they were begging to eat with the other kids at CC, so we went ahead and let them.

 

If your kids follow all these rules, they will be more well behaved than other kids on the ship!

[noxiousdog]

Trust and responsibility is is a two way street - our kids ALWAYS knew where we would be at all times, so they could find us if necessary. (as easy as using a post-it note on our cabin door if anyone changed locales.)

 

Wow. Great idea. We plan on giving our 9 year old more freedom (primarily because he can sign himself out of camp if he wants), and this is perfect.

[Zoey]

How about adding: 6) No running up and down the halls, 7) No touching buffett food with your fingers 8) No pressing every elevator button, 9) No getting into adult only hot tubs or pools, 10) When in a dining venue, elevator or hallways always use your quiet voice.......

[AQW]

Love this! I am absolutely stealing your idea about laminating and putting on their lanyard w/their sail-n-sign card; that's fantastic.

 

Personally, I will make the smaller version reflect more positive will-do statements (Buddy system; Cabins are for families; Feet on the floor; Respect & courtesy; Emergency = muster) so it reads more as a guideline/reminder instead of a list of Don't Make Me Kill You rules. ;) The longer, more detailed document will be posted in the cabin.

 

Nicely done kwagmyre, thanks for sharing.

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

How about adding: 6) No running up and down the halls, 7) No touching buffett food with your fingers 8) No pressing every elevator button, 9) No getting into adult only hot tubs or pools, 10) When in a dining venue, elevator or hallways always use your quiet voice.......

 

Does this apply to adults also???? :D

[bpkrules]

Once I have finalized my rules, I am seriously considering having them laminated onto credit-card sized cards, and placing them on lanyards next to their S&S cards. A little overkill and possibly embarrasing?

 

So you understand its an overkill and embarrasing and want somebody to tell you to do it? Kids will be kids no matter how much you laminated embarrasing items to their body.

[higgib]

We're going on our 1st cruise with our teens on Saturday, and have drawn up a contract for them. It covers the 5 points you have made, but also:

 

Do not drink anything unless handed to you by family or bar tender. Do not drink anything that has been out of your sight.

 

No playing in stairwells/corridors/lifts.

 

No running unless part of an organised activity.

 

No shouting unless part of an organised activity.

 

No going on any cabin deck apart from ours - meet friends in public areas eg. lounge restaurant or pool.

 

Do not be alone with anyone (friends/crew) where you cannot be seen by others.

 

Do not go on outside decks after dark.

 

Hopefully, this will help our kids know what we expect of them, and will keep them out of trouble, especially as they will have their own cabin next door to us. I have to say the posts about the lady and her teen boys was a bit concerning, but I discussed it with my girls, and I think it has helped them to understand why we are giving them rules.

[kwagmyre]

Do not go on outside decks after dark.

 

I can understand why you would place the rest of the rules, but I'm not sure I am "getting" this one... what is the greater perceived risk by them being on a deck after dark vs. daytime? I mean, at least under my rule set they are not to be alone period, so am not sure if there is something additional I should be looking out for here...

[jkneern]

Great Idea! Wish they had these for every kid and gave them with their SS card. Just off the glory today and let me tell you.....tons of kids and only very few with manors. Amazing at the kids unsupervised at the pools. Jumping, splashing in the adult hot tubs and no one around to reprimand them. Don't get me wrong I have 3 kids of my own and if they behaved as some of these kids did, I would never take them cruising again.

[lulamc]

One of my rules: No falling in love.

 

LOL! But really, my then 15 year old fell hopelessly in love last cruise and the last two nights of our seven day cruise they both cried. It was ridiculous.

[kwagmyre]

How about adding: 6) No running up and down the halls, 7) No touching buffett food with your fingers 8) No pressing every elevator button, 9) No getting into adult only hot tubs or pools, 10) When in a dining venue, elevator or hallways always use your quiet voice.......

 

Those are all certainly good and reasonable, but generally fall under my #4 rule about common sense and common courtesy. And, kind of a separate side-topic, we're going to have a whoooole separate session about buffet lines, hand-washing and hygiene, trust me... no desire to spend my cruise stuck in a cabin under noro quarantine...

[kwagmyre]

One of my rules: No falling in love.

 

LOL! But really, my then 15 year old fell hopelessly in love last cruise and the last two nights of our seven day cruise they both cried. It was ridiculous.

 

Oh no... TRUST me, I fully believe this... the number of blossoming young romances I saw on our cruise certainly caught my attention. It was like summer camp on the seas or something.

 

Ah, but if we could only give your wise admonition to adults as well.... ;):cool:

[higgib]

I can understand why you would place the rest of the rules, but I'm not sure I am "getting" this one... what is the greater perceived risk by them being on a deck after dark vs. daytime? I mean, at least under my rule set they are not to be alone period, so am not sure if there is something additional I should be looking out for here...

 

I'm probably being a bit paranoid because we haven't cruised before! This one came about after reading a thread about kids climbing on the railings, and about another kid who climbed into a lifeboat:eek: If anything terrible were to happen, there would be no chance of finding/rescuing them in the dark, on open sea. I don't think my girls are likely to do anything really silly, but then, we parents are constantly suprised by the things our kids are capable of doing! :eek: So, unless they are outside with us, or the teen club, I just feel better that they are inside after dark.

[sparks1093]

One of my rules: No falling in love.

 

LOL! But really, my then 15 year old fell hopelessly in love last cruise and the last two nights of our seven day cruise they both cried. It was ridiculous.

 

Happened to my eldest on our first cruise, he cried all the way from Miami to Vermont. She dumped him a couple of days after we got home, too (he was the only one that didn't see that coming).

[JeanieTheMom]

My 2 boys were 14 and 16 on their first cruise. I found and modified some rules here and on other sites on the internet. We went over them before we left home, but they didn't have lanyards. :) Some of my rules are the same as those that have been posted already, but some are new, so I thought I'd share. I hope they are helpful to someone.

 

Cruise Rules for Teens

1. Don’t go into anyone else’s cabin.

2. Don’t bring anyone into our cabin when Mom isn’t there.

3. Stay in the public corridors rather than the cabin corridors.

4. Never let anyone else get you a drink.

5. If you have to leave your drink unattended, don’t drink it – get a new one.

6. Never go off alone with anyone – even a crew member.

7. Stay away from railings. Don’t climb on or near them.

8. If it wouldn’t be safe to do at the mall, it’s not safe on the cruise.

9. Check in when and where we tell you to.

10. Be in the cabin by your curfew time.

11. Let us know if you’re going to a different place.

12. Don’t throw anything, including spit, over the railing.

13. Be respectful of other passengers. This includes (but is not limited to):

 

• Don’t push multiple buttons on the elevator.
  
• Don’t take large portions of food or drink that you do not intend to consume.
  
• Say excuse me, please and thank you when appropriate.
  
• Open doors for older people and ladies, and allow them to go first.
  

14. Have a good time.

[JenniLynn]

I don't have kids but I was a camp counselor for quite a while. I had 4 rules...

 

Be honest

Be caring

Be respectful

Be responsible

 

I never once had a camper pull anything that wasn't covered by one of those 4 things. I also had each camper sign a contract each week, some of our campers were there only 1 week, others stayed 3-4 or even more. After I laid out my 4 rules I asked them what honest, caring, respectful, and responsible meant to them then I allowed the kids to write the contract, as long as it fell within the guidelines of the 4. They also were able to spell out their own consequences within the contract if a rule or the contract was broken during their stay. They were usually tougher on themselves than I would have been... because at that point no one had been in trouble yet. In all of the weeks and months I did this I only had 1 group that I needed extra help with from other "higher ranking" staff. There was some underlying Jerry Springer worthy family drama that caused it (Susie's mom is marrying Jennifer's dad... and Susie's dad is sleeping with Katie's step-mom behind Katie's dad's back... or something like that... All three girls were in my cabin and Susie was NOT a "happy camper!")

 

Anyway, I have often wished that parents would make their kids simply abide my those 4 "rules." (And I wish even more that all adults were required to abide by them!!!) If everyone did the whole world would be a better, kinder, cleaner place!

[Crazy4Koko]

my teens had landyards..they opted to NOT use them for their sign and sails..

 

that might be one glitch in your system... especially if they're girls..

 

 

Lanyards don't go with ANYTHING they wear! :p

[Lance'sBride]

One of my rules: No falling in love.

 

LOL! But really, my then 15 year old fell hopelessly in love last cruise and the last two nights of our seven day cruise they both cried. It was ridiculous.

 

I wasn't a teenager, but when I was 22 I fell in love on a cruise, and now we're happily married with a son! You never know where you'll meet the right one!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Good RULES....

[golfb4cruzing]

Sanitize frequently, not just before meals. Many surfaces to deal with. How many handrails are touched. Great list.

[Half Pint]

How about adding: 6) No running up and down the halls, 7) No touching buffett food with your fingers 8) No pressing every elevator button, 9) No getting into adult only hot tubs or pools, 10) When in a dining venue, elevator or hallways always use your quiet voice.......

 

Yes PLEASE to number 6. I don't care how cute you as a Momma think it is to let your child run and scream up and down the halls at 3am. No one else does, trust me.

 

All the other ones are great too...and were completely ignored by parents (and crew) on our last cruise.

[FlaMilkman]

All good advise.

 

We have traveled with our teens at least once per year for the past 6-7 years without significant incidents. First and foremost, we let them know that it is a privilege, not a right, to go on a cruise and should the rules be broken there is always the option to stay with relatives the next time (major offense - never been necessary) and being grounded during the vacation (must eat dinner with us instead of their friends, early curfew, etc. - only implemented once; she quickly got the point ;) ).

 

As was mentioned earlier, we remind the teens that Big Brother is ALWAYS watching you and even though Mom and Dad may not catch you in the act, the video camera will. With a limited number of teens on board, and no place to hide, it isn't worth doing something stupid. Additionally, we always have the talk about never putting yourself into a dangerous situation (going into a stranger's cabin, following a crew member, etc.) and let them know that we are always within a short distance and to come and ask us if there is any question in your mind.

 

Just be upfront and honest with the teens about what is acceptable and what is not, allow them some liberty and be ready to drop the hammer if necessary.